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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — to wash
  4. tear — to rip
  5. cell — in biology
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. shower — rain
  10. capital — a city
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. tear — from crying
  13. capital — money
  14. cell — a phone
  15. pit — in a race
  16. pit — a hole
  17. craft — a skill
  18. stock — shares
  19. stock — goods
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. craft — boats
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. stock — a soup base

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com